Monthly Archives: July 2012

We are back from day 2 of our Waterton Lakes National Park adventures. Yesterday, I commented on International Peace Park that within reason animals are right there and pose for you. We were unable to post our one bear sighting. Despite poor vision, bears hear very well our sighting was from the boat. As we moved closer, the bear heard us and headed for cover. We only took pictures of his rear end from a distance. Today we had two bear sightings.

This was our first sighting. This bear was about 100 metres away on a hillside as we left town. It is a fair-sized and is brown, but is likely a black bear and not a grizzly. What we could see of the snout and head does not look quite right and it is missing the hump on the back. Here is another view.

Grizzly bear are generally solitary and do not like humans around them where black bear are more likely to approach areas with humans around.

This sign is at the Cameron Lake trail and refers to the area beyond as a ‘grizzly’s garden’ and care is needed beyond this point.

Here is a haiku for grizzly bear we did not see, but we know is out there.

Grizzly’s home and garden

Tread gently and carefully

Grizzly habitat.

Our good fortune was not done. We spotted another black bear on another hillside on our way back from Red Rock Canyon. This one is younger and smaller and is definitely a black bear. I would guess it was born a year ago this past spring.

You can see the snout and the ‘piggy eyes’ of the bear. They are members of the same family as the pig. The ears stick up more and the grizzly would have ears that are ‘teddy bear like’ and stick out from the side of a very large head.

Not all animals we met were as intimidating.

This sheep was about 2 metres from the car and just looked up to have its picture taken.

Kathy and I wanted to travel down to Glacier National Park, Montana, but the logistics were challenging. We put this on the back burner this year and traveled to Waterton Lakes National Park in the southwest corner of Alberta. The two parks combine and form the first International Peace Park and are often called the Crown of the Continent, but there is no easy way to see both without a lot of traveling or so we thought. Luck intervened and we found our way down to Glacier National Park.

In national parks you can get up close and personal with the wildlife. They are still wild and skittish, but as long as you are careful they stay and. I took this picture just outside the ticket offices for the boat tours. She grazed, let several of us take pictures, and we were within a couple of metres (five or six feet) of her.

Oh my dear, it’s a deer.

We were able to travel to Glacier via an alternate mode of transportation: a boat. This is the US International, an 85-year-old boat, that makes four round trips on Waterton Lake to the south end. Part way through the trip, we crossed into the US and Kathy and I chose to stay for a couple of hours to do some hiking.

An icon of Waterton is the Prince of Wales Hotel. It was built in 1927 and overlooks the lake. It is open from mid-June until mid-September. We have missed it on other trips due to traveling in the off-season, but this year we are stopping for ‘high tea.’ This is a view from the boat.

When Kathy and I got to the US port of entry at Goat’s Haunt, we stayed and hiked into a small alpine lake called Kootenai. It is about an 8 km walk (5 miles) and took about 2.5 hours. This is the ranger station and border crossing. We showed passports and answered routine questions.

This is a view from the path along the way.

Nature’s cathedral

Light dances with shadows below

A benediction.

This was a small stream we passed over twice. The flow of water has worn the rock flat. Nature is rich with paradox.

Shimon who posts at The Human Picture left a comment on my post Sabbath’s Circle. I am grateful for his explanation of the roots of the word ‘sabbath’ which indicates sitting. It is always good to know what the roots of words are so when we use them we understand them more fully and, when I sit with something in quiet time, it finds its way into my practice.

Kathy and I will drive to Waterton Lakes National Park and I will enjoy my day of disconnecting in a place that is important to us. We spent part of our honeymoon there and it is a special place for us. I am looking forward to spending time in a special place full of God’s many gifts. We are not sure what we will do, but the next 3 days we will just let intuition guide us.

This is a view from about 50 km (30 miles) away from what we will be re-exploring.

Kathy and I head home after a great month in Spokane and at Gonzaga. I enjoy my time here and find the “pause that refreshes.” Part of this is paying forward which happens and the flow of time within this relational space. I see paying forward as a circle. Yesterday, we said good-bye to a colleague on his way home. He reminded me I lent him one of my papers his first summer here and how much that meant to him at a time he was ready to pack it in. I told him my first experience here was similar and someone reached out to me. I find the same thing in virtual community. It is harder to carry on conversations and build relationships, but I find a qualities that are unmistakeably human: care, reciprocity, and trust. I am grateful for the daily support I receive in each form of relationship.

I mentioned when I posted Angry Young Poet there was a second poem I shared from my youth with my students. I softened this one a bit, as it had an angry voice. I know this version sounds pretty harsh, but it is gentler. A recent conversation reminded me how I marginalize voices of those already marginalized. A professor commented he was told by an affluent person that another less fortunate person was a non-entity and the worth of human was measured in material worth. I know this might be isolated, but it troubling and I was reminded of this poem.

I finished reading Healing the Heart of Democracy by Parker Palmer. It is a wonderful book and, even though he wrote it from an American perspective, it has many universal messages. These poems focus on a message we are in life together-we share, reciprocate, appreciate.

I am reaching the point of settling into the dissertation process. My theme is technology, its implications in learning, mindful practices, and the role of leadership in the use of technology. Today, the responses I received from yesterday’s post, Inspiring Blog Award, was evidence that various social media offer opportunities to build digital community. Gonzaga has a journal club for its doctoral students. We find research articles, read them and summarize key points, and present our understanding as they relate to leadership. I presented one about Virtual Communities of Practice today. A key point is reciprocity or the giving and receiving of gifts. This is not a material gift, but one demonstrated through appreciation for the other when they post or say something online. I was able to share I saw the reciprocity and appreciation fully today. You are part of an emerging phenomenological study.

Before I post, I wanted to acknowledge inspiration is reciprocal. Each day, with anticipation, I check my email and follow blogs I subscribe to.

I have gained a considerable amount from blogging, but is humbling. When I began, I had few visitors, no likes, and no comments. Gradually, this changed and blogging became rewarding in and of itself as I learned its nuanced context. It is still humbling in two ways. First, when I check creative blogs posted about passions people hold dear, it impresses me with the process and product. Second, I keep it real . Statistically, the blog I follow with the largest following has about 15, 000 followers. This is about 0.000002% of the world’s population and my 300 followers is about 0.00000004%. Against the odds we form a small, appreciative community and share parts of our lives. Thank you.

Thank you Kay Lynté at Thinking is Write for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I am glad to know my blog inspires others, including Kay. I appreciate the gifts others share and in various ways they inspire me in my journey 🙂